SHOT Show 2012: L.E. & Tactical

Innovative Products Draw Officers, Drive Sales.

The Law Enforcement & Tactical Gear sections at SHOT Show are some of the most challenging areas to navigate — they’re always packed with wholesale buyers, dealers, and law enforcement and security personnel.

L.E. is a main driver of product innovation — and civilian sales. There are truly innovative new products available, and they act as a catalyst to get cops into your stores — and civilians who want the same products. Why? A cop takes a product into the field and beats it to death. If it holds up, other officers buy it. Your civilian customers see that, and demand the same products.

Here’s a rapid-fire look at just a few of the products unveiled at this year’s show.
Firearms

The Sphinx SDP pistol, from the Swiss company that designed the Sphinx 3000, meets L.E. and military operators’ demands, while maintaining absolute reliability. It has a visual and tactile loaded chamber indicator, internal firing pin safety, drop safety, integrated slide position safety, a hammer safety and three interchangeable grip sizes.

SIG SAUER’s Adaptive Carbine Platform (ACP) allows any handgun with an accessory rail to be quickly modified into a personal defense or carbine-style firearm. The ACP has M1913 rails at the 3, 6 and 9 o’clock positions, with a full-length top rail at the 12 o’clock position.

Smith & Wesson continues to add to its M&P line, this year introducing the M&P15 VTAC II, developed with Kyle Lamb of Viking Tactics. The tactical rifle, with a 16-inch barrel, offers reduced recoil and improved accuracy.

“The new Smith & Wesson VTAC II is the next phase of the evolution of the combat carbine,” Lamb said.

Colt Defense now offers the LESOCOM, providing L.E. and civilians a rifle as close as possible to the M4A1 military carbine. Chambered in .223, only the LESOCOM’s 16.1-inch barrel length and semiauto fire controls differentiate it from the M4A1 platform.

Lights-A-Plenty

There were so many flashlights on display at SHOT, it could be called the Tactical Illumination Tool Show.

The Bright Strike EPLI is a pocket pen-sized light that puts out over 160 lumens of light energy. Its switching system is on the end cap, and with a series of pushes, you can go from bright to medium dim, and even strobe.

The LedLenser P5R is a 200-lumen pocket-sized light that’s a little over 4 1/2 inches long and weighs less than 3 ozs. It has a truly great cop sales feature: No expensive CR123 batteries. The P5R is rechargeable.

The new Fenix TK70 won’t fit in your palm — it’s big. This one is a ground-up design that demonstrates extremely high-quality control and precision manufacture. The TX70 puts out a whopping 2,200 lumens.

“It’s not something you’d use on every stop, but you’d probably use it at least once each night shift. I think you’d have to be careful not to singe paint with it,” said Officer Floyd, from the Four Corners area of Colorado.

While not in the Tactical Illumination Tool category, the Lumenyte Emergency Signaling Device uses LEDs. Distributed by International Supplies, this kit consists of eight LED illumination devices that replace incendiary flares. Each has a runtime of over 400 hours on two AA batteries — that’s the equivalent to 700 incendiary flares.

In an era of tight budgets, this is a real money saver. International Supplies did a cost study for a large-size Southern California department that fields around 130 cars daily. The cost savings was in excess of $330,000.

Outfitting Officers

Aimpoint introduces the Micro T1 with a 2 MOA red dot for increased precision when lining up a shot.

“You just can’t beat the Aimpoint Micro T1 on a patrol rifle. It’s compact and light, and you just don’t need magnification in an urban environment,” said Officer Nobbs, a longtime range officer at a large Southern California police department.

Leupold’s new Mark 4 HAMR (High Accuracy Multi-Range Riflescope) is designed for precise midrange shooting and fast target acquisition in bright daylight, low light and at night. When coupled with Leupold’s DeltaPoint reflex sight, the HAMR provides an edge in close-quarter and midrange tactical scenarios.

BLACKHAWK! introduces a new clothing line for women, including police officers. The company is promoting the L.E. line with an ad campaign: “Women Have Fit Into The Uniform For Years. It’s Time The Uniform Fit Them.”

“This is the first line that has been truly created for a woman’s body type. The line includes tactical pants and shirts. It mirrors the men’s line, so it’s completely uniform. We’re excited about the response we’ve received,” said Aysha Webb, of BLACKHAWK.
By Dave Douglas
Photos By Jade Molde